Eucalypts in Montrose

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I was driving home the other day along Mt Dandenong Road, and just past Balmoral Street on the left hand side I noticed dozens and dozens of similar looking Eucalyptus trees. The bark seemed to me like something very distinct and unlike Eucalypts I had seen before, it was brown, very dense and furrowed, and persistent all the way to the top and along the branches. 

Bark on Eucalyptus tree

I did some research and have truly gotten nowhere to identifying these trees. The bark that I thought was so distinct seems to be on half of Eucalyptus species out there. One species that seems to fit the criteria is Eucalyptus sideroxylon or Red Ironbark, but I can’t be too sure because several others look similar! Below are photos I took of the trees along Mt. Dandenong Road.

     

 

The leaves, as you can see by the pictures below, are simple, lanceolate-falcate, and dull green. The buds along the stem are still young, and I think it would be best to wait until the flowers bloom in spring to try and identify the trees.

All of these trees were on the nature strips outside the residential streets. I think it would be interesting to know how old the trees are, but to surmise that I think I would need to have an idea of how old the town is. According to sources (below in references), Montrose was established from 1870 to 1880, making the town 143 years old. The first primary school opened in 1880, and the first official post office of Montrose opened in 1898. From this I can probably say that people were residing in Montrose from 1870, and the town became popular during the 1880s. Maybe these trees have been right where they stand since then? Maybe council workers from the 1880s planted them? Then again I really have no idea, but if I have seen Eucalyptus trees that I know to be nearly 10 years old that look half this height then about 100 years old seems like a pretty reasonable guess. I actually just realised that this ramble about how old these trees are does not help me in the slightest. I’m not a tree expert; I can’t tell how old a tree is by looking at it. I need a Eucalyptus expert or something, or I just need to wait until spring to see the flowers and then I can probably identify these trees.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montrose,_Victoria

http://yarraranges.vic.gov.au